Washing and collecting apparatus.



4 SHEETS-SHEET l.

Patented July 14, 1914.

R. H. WRIGHT.

WASHING AND COLLECTING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 7, 1911.

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1,103,390. Patented July 14,1914.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

In Ven tor:

Rc1-Mfr Haz y@ uw, KWWL? THE Ncmus PETERS co., wAsumnroN, n. c.

R. H. WRHGHT. WASHING AND COLLECTING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 7, 1911. LQSSQQ, Patented July 14,1914.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3,

In ven tor:

by RM Hag/MAM www 1HE nomas PETERS co.A WASI-:msnm: u. c

R. H. WRIGHT.

WASHING AND COLLECTING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 7, 1911.

Patented July 14, 1914.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

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ROBERT IIAZLEHURSI WRIGHT, OF NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE, ASSIGNOR TO CHARLES- TON S. C. MINING 8c MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF MOUNT PLEASANT, TEN- NESSEE, A CORPORATION 0F SOUTH CAROLINA. p

WASHING ANI) COLLECTING APPARATUS.

To @ZZ 'whom it may concern Be it known that I, ROBERT HAZLEHURST VRIGHT, a citizen of the United States, residing at Nashville, in the county of Davidson and State of Tennessee, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Washing and Collecting Apparatus, of which the following is a` specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawing.

My invention relates to apparatus for washing and collecting the values or other ingredients of ores, earths, sands, disintegrated rock, etc., and the apparatus hereof is intended for separating various ingredients or constituents from a body or mass of material. Thus it has been employed for washing and collecting phosphate sand and also coal, and would be available as well for any sand, kaolin or other clays or even fine ore; in each of which in a crude state there exist two or more different characters of material, the physical or chemical 'nature of one of them being such that it may be either soluble in water or capable of suspension in water by reason of its fine division so that with agitation the finely divided matter on the one hand or the dissolved matter may be carried or floated away with the water and separated from the other constituents of the original material.

An object of the present invention is to affordv a new and improved separating apparatus capable of washing and collecting materials such as those above referred to, and more specifically speaking other objects are the improvement of the vessel or trough in which the material is separated into classes, also the means for causing the relative travel of the classes, and also the feed and control of the material and water.

The invention consists in the hereinafter described novel trough or vessel and its general construction and arrangement; also the means whereby opposite endwise discharge is secured of the heavy or coarse material at one end, and the fine or light material at the other end; also the formation of the trough or vessel in units of peculiar form enabling the apparatus to be taken apart or to be built up in any desired length according to the number of units.

The invention also consists in the hereinafter described novel means for causing the Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed July 7, 1911.

Patented July i4., i914..

serial No. 637,371.

relative travel of the diiferentclasses of material including a series of moving flights, riifle bars or collectors and the chain or similar connections for driving them; also the peculiar and novel kconstruction of the flights. -1 v The invention also consists in the hereinafter described novel arrangement whereby a trough is provided which is of great length compared to its width and of shallow depth compared to its width, with`- feedk and combinations as are hereinafter described and illustrated.

I will first describe one form of apparatus embodying my improvements and will then point out the novel features in the claims. l

In the accompanying drawings forming a.

part hereof, Figure 1 is a top plan view of an apparatus embodying my improvements.`

Fig. 2 is a central longitudinal section showing part of the apparatus in side elevation. Fig. 3 is a transverse section taken through the trough and one of the overheadv bridges or guides. Figs. 4t, 5 and 6 show the details of the trough sections, Fig. at being a plan `view of a section, Fig. 5 an end elevation,

and Fig. 6 a side elevation. Figs. 7 and 7a, etc., show the preferred details vof construction of the flights or moving rffle bars. Fig. 8 is a longitudinal section of a fragment of the trough showing two successive flights and illustrating the action` of the material.

Fig. 9 shows in plan view a possible 'arrangement whereby two of the troughs of Figs. l, etc., may be operated side by side and caused to both discharge into a chute leading to the center of a third trough for further washing. Fig 10 is a side elevation, and Fig. 11 an end elevation thereof.

Similar letters of reference designate corresponding parts in the several figures of the drawings.

The main trough or vessel A hereof, while ino ' moving collectors, aswell as the mechanism for driving them, and also the control of the feed and vdischarge of material and water. Y The trough A, vwhich is intended to have the unwashed material fed into it at a point A substantially midway of its ends, may be of variousv 4shapes and adjustments as regards its incline'but itis preferred that the 1, trough shall be slanted upwardly from the vcenter toward` the end A2, namely the lefthandend Fig. l, at which the discharge of une coarse or. heavy material iseffected. 'lhls incline is clearly seen at Fig. 2. In none of the figures is any receiving vesselshown for Areceiving vt-he coarse, heavy material discharged vfrom the trough Asince the details thereof form no y part of the present improvements,- and the materialy discharged maybe lhandledvin any desired manner. In Figs. 9, 10,11, it shouldbe said, lthe discharge is into an inclined chuteleading to :a5r

another trough for-further washing.

j, Hereinafter will be described the flights orV collectors which are' constantly moving toward the left to feed the heavy coarse 'kmaterial up the inclineto the discharge end.

Bearing this in mind it will be, clearly seen that thetendency of said incline is to produce at and adjacent to the middle part of the-trough length a substantial collecting pool in which both material and water will collectfto a greater depth than at other portionsofthe length of theapparatus. To

afford'this pool is one of the objects of thel described construction.

`That part of the troughs length from the middle or feed portion A to the right-hand end A? where the light and line material is discharged, is shown as Substantially level or flat, but this might be varied within the scope ofthe present'improvements by introducing an incline in either direction, more particularly a slight upward incline" from A to A3 thus emphasizing the formation of a collecting pool at the center. Themaim tenance of a central pool and the upward incline at the lefttend advantageously to check the outflow of the heavy, coarse particles, thereby prolonging the washing operations upon them and increasing the effectiveness of the machines operation. l

The degree of'slope of the'trough at one The trough will be ofv or bothy ends `will be subject vto change in accordance with the principleswell understood by those skilled in the art. A steeper incline at the discharge` end A2 will cause a lesser discharge of material, `and the"material discharged will be of a coarser, heavier nature, whereas with a lesser incline particles not so coarse and heavy will ybe permitted to discharge and in this way the character of the separated material can be to some extent regulated. In other words, if with a given incline it is found that too much or too little material is discharged at A2 a correction will be made by altering the incline as desired. Thesame remarks apply to a certain extent to the right-hand or tail` end w'here the smaller or lighter particles are discharged. The greater the u slope at that end, the more check will be afforded to the loutowing material and the better means will thereby be provided for portions of the finer material to settle and be vdragged back towardthe central collecting point and prevent their being wasted by discharge with the tailings. The upward incline at the left or head end o-f the; machine possesses a further advantage in assisting the action of the water to be hereinafter described, which has to wash over the tops `of the traveling flights and carry the lighter, ner material backward toward the right.

j Any suitable method `may be employed for supporting the long trough throughout its length; thus as best seen in Figs. 2 and 3 the overlying trough flanges are seen to rest uponV two square longitudinal timbers A4 in front andv A5 Vin the rear, which extend the entire lengt-h of the apparatus.

These timbers A4, A5 are in turn supportedk by a series of cross timbers A, and the cross timbers vA6 will v be at varying heights in accordance with the slope required to be given to the trough. j I will know describe the make-up 'of the trough'and the details of the sectional portions which are combined in any` desired number for building up the entire apparatus in such llength as may be required. It will be understood .that the several sections are secured together by the peculiar joints tobe described, and that the nature of these is such that with a long apparatus different parts of the length may be given different molines-without interfering with the eflectiveness and tightness of the joints.v The angle between any `two sections will be so slight as to be immaterial.

Fig. l shows one of the trough sections in top view, and end andk side elevations are seen in Figs. 5 and 6. The inner sides and bottom should be smooth and may be planed to secure smoothness so as to afford an accurate fit and coperation with the traveling flights. The'joint portion of each section where it joinsjto the next section is shown as of a form departing from a straight transverse cross line, it being in a form produced by twoinclined lines meeting at a point a at the right. The opposite end of each section of course has its contour indented forming a recessy a2 into which the point a of the next succeeding section enters. The metal of each section at its left end is shown as bent or dropped downwardly for-the whole width of the trough,

sufficient to fasten all of them to the timbers A4, A5, and for the latter purpose the overlying fianges a5 of each trough section are provided with holes as.

In cross-section the trough and each sectional part thereof may have any desired shape and may be curved or flat-sided, it

being shown as having two flat inclined sides and a flat bottom with the two supporting flanges c5 already referred to.

To increase the smoothness and continuity of the inner trough surface the joints be tween the successive sections may be calked with such substances as lead or alloy or asphalt or mineral or vegetable compounds. 1f desired each trough section may have exterior stiffening ribs, such for example as the longitudinal ribs indicated at a7 Fig. 3.

The series of flights B, B, which are in the nature of traveling bars or scrapers, are indicated in Figs. 1 and 2 and shown more in detail in Figs. 3, 7, 7a, 8. They are all connected to any suitable mechanism for causing their gradual forward travel, and such travel may be either ysteady and continuous or jerky and intermittent. 1t is preferred in an apparatus of the proportions shown in the drawings, that the flights should travel at an average speed of about from forty to sixty feet per minut-e more or less according to the amount of washing which is required.

A convenient means for actuating the flights is a draft connection such as a chain, wire or rope or a pair of them, see chains C, C', to which all of the flights are connected so as to lie in a position transverse of the trough A. The draft connection or chains C, C may be continuous, passing around sprockets c, c at the left end of the apparatus, and similar sprockets at the other end. The return length or portion of each chain C, C should be supported to prevent its sagging into the trough, and for this purpose idler sprockets might be employed or elevated tracks, guides or bridges D,'D as shown. The supporting tracks D, D need not form a continuous guide and for convenience are formed as a plurality of short elevated tracks as shown spaced near enough to each other toprevent the chain sagging objectionably between them. rlhis construction has the advantage of rendering the apparatus more open to access and inspection and dispenses with idler sprockets and the care needed to keep them in running condition. Each elevated track-way is shown as consisting` simply of two pairs of vertical supports d, over each pair of which rests a transverse support cZ, the actual guides Z2 resting longitudinally upon the cross supports el. Arrows have been applied to indicate the direction of travel, it being understood that the heavy and coarse material is discharged at the left.

For driving the sprockets c, c and thereby chains C, C and the flights B, said two sprockets may be secured to a transverse shaft c2 which has also secured to it a spur gear c3 engaging a pinion c4 on a second transverse shaft 05 upon which is a sprocket c engaged by a chain c7 passing to another sprocket 0S on a third transverse shaft 09, said shaft also having a pulley 010 engaged by a belt or rope 011 that passes also about another pulley C12 mounted on a shaft 013 having a sprocket c thereon about which engages a chain 015 extending to any convenient source of power such as a motor. The described arrangement of driving mechanism may of course be varied to suit the circumstances and a combined driving :mechanism may be employed where two or threeor more apparatuses are to be operated in conjunction, as seen in Figs. 9, 10 and 11. With the above described or other driving means may be employed the below described flights and connection between flight and chain. l

As seen in Fig. 3 the flight is of such shape as to substantially conform to th-e bottom and sides .of the trough so as to fill the lower part of the trough with an approximately water-tight connection. rlfhe flight may consist of a metal bar made for example of cast iron and having su'liicient weight to cause it to press by gravity toward the bottom of the trough, this action being assisted by the weight ofthe draft connection or chain. `While a simple crossbar or scraper might in some cases be sufiicient for a -fiight the preferred construction according to the present improvements is that the Hight shall consist of not only a transverse bar preferably of metal but also a second rigid piece shown as a metal plate and the two clamped or secured together with a leather piece between them. Thus 'represents the main bar, b the clamping plate, Z22 the leather stripv and b3 the bolts clamping the three together. The flights may insome cases be so constructed as to make a loose fitting joint with the trough;

I and thus purposely allow certain material to pass underneath and around the flights. The leather piece is in the form of afstrip standing inclined and extending along the front face of the bar from one side of the trough to the other, and said leather strip extends clear to the bottom so as to actually contact the trough bottom and sides as the flight is dragged along. The leather thus acts somewhat as a packing, aiding materially in securing `a tight or nearly tight fit between the flights and the trough bottom and sides. Any well known means may be employed for connecting the flights B at intervals along the sprocket chains C, C. For example the ordinary links 01 may at regu lar intervals be replaced by special links 017 formed with integral extensions 01S which are perforated to correspond with holes in the bars b, whereby bolts b4 may be employed for securing them together. The above described flight construction is of material advantage in increasing the efficiency of the apparatus.

' 1 will now describe the feeding and discharging of thefore, sand or other material and the water. The material may be fed in any desired manner to the trough and to assist the feeding an inclined chute E may be employed shown located near the center of the length of the trough. Material dumped into this will pass into the trough where it will at once mix with the water and other material there collected and will be subject at once to the action of the flights or scrapers, which are dragging always from right to left. It will be understood that the heavier and coarser materials will sink and be more directly subject to the forward motion. of the Flights than will the soluble and lighter matters which latter together with the excess of water will be more or less free from the operation of the flights and will be able to flow toward the right sof as eventually to discharge the lighter materials at the righthand end A3 of the trough. In the meantime the heavier materials becoming more and more cleanly washed, are fed toward the discharge end A2.

Water may be admitted in any desired manner but l prefer that it should be admitted in the form ofsprays and that these sprays should be located more particularly so as to be directed vupon the outgoing heavier materials, although sprays might be employed toward the discharge' end A3 of the apparatus, and indeed might be employed in some cases toy advantage throughout the entire length of the trough. In the drawings is shown a water lpipe F extending alongside of the trough at a convenient point between the central portion Aand the discharge end A2 of the trough..v Leading from the water pipe F are .shownI eight spray pipes f each extending directly over the trough and having-spray apertures directed downwardly so that the force of the spray is received by the materials to be washed. This addsV materially tothe washing effect and also tends better to breakup the material, and at the same time affords a'liquid flow in that part of the apparatus for carrying back toward thetail end the lighter and liner particles which it is desired to separate. The use of the sprays at this point is also important in assisting the action of the fiights whose forward motion imparts rolling and sliding rifiie movements to the material7 such movements being increased and' rendered more effective by the sprays andconstituting an important factor in: effecting the complete washing of the material. I

'l'he actions caused by the flight movements and the sprays, and the agitation created by the latter are roughly illustrated in Fig. 8 in which the large arrow shows the direction of movement of the flights and of the heavy coarse material, while the small arrows show the backward ow of the water, overflowing the flights and carrying the light kmaterial with it. rlhe spray pipe f may have small holes in its lower side with a heavy water pressure, for examplesixty pounds per square inch, causing forcible jets of waterupon the material, J ust forward of each flight is shown a triangular mass of sand including coarse and heavy material under the influence of the agitation of the jets of water from above. rlhe curved arrows within the mass are intended to indicate the nature of the agitation, which is quite thorough, the lower portions ofthe material being constantly forced upwardly so ythat there is a continual in termingling and full opportunity for clean washing and removal of all the lighter and finer particles including muddy substances such as clay and soluble substances, all of which arel removed and overow wit-h the water passing to the left.

There is a species of riffle effect in the action of the flights in that the angle between the flight and the trough is enabled to catch the coarse, heavy materials. There is also a very advantageous scouring of the material effected owing to the rubbing of the materialvalong the bottom of the trough.

Regulation is easily secured of the degree of washing and of the relative lineness of the discharges at the head and tail ends.v Such regulation may be effected by controlling the quantity of material fed into the apparatus-,and the amount of water sprayed .into it; the speed of the flights is also im- .I the showing of the flights and their connections, but are sufhciently full to diagrammatically illustrate one manner of making a three-fold employment of the improvements hereof. Referring briefly to said figures, G represents an apparatus similar to that of Figs. l to 8, G being the middle or feed portion, G.2 the higher end constituting the discharge for the heavy material, and G3 the discharge end for the lighter man terials. Parallel with this is a second similar apparatus H having the feed and discharge points H', H2, H3. The discharges from both G2 and H2 are caused to pass into a common chute 1 which is set at an inoline and leads to where at its downward end it discharges into the middle or feed portion J of a third apparatus J which is similar to G, H, but is off-set lengthwise as indicated.l The discharge J2 at the left of apparatus J directs the heavy material which has now been twice washed into any suitable receptacle. A. single driving shaft K may be employed for actuating the chains of the three apparatuses G, H, J, it having a sprocket wheel 7o with chain connections to other sprockets and shafts analogous to those shown in Figs. 1 and 2 for driving the chains and flights of apparatuses G and H, and the common shaft K has a second sprocket wheel 7c having chain connections for the apparatus J.

rThe further details of the connections will be similar to Figs. 1 to 3 and need not be further described.

Since the specific details above described are not in all cases essential, and may be altered or replaced, and since the apparatus as a whole is capable of readaptation'and perfection in many ways, do not wish to limit myself to specific features except as recited in the claims.

What i claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In an apparatus of the kind described, the combination of a longitudinally arranged trough, and traveling members shallower than the trough for causing travel and discharge of heavy or coarse material at the head end, said trough being arranged with an upward incline at the head end and without such incline at the other end, means to feed to an intermediate portion of the trough the material to be separated, and means for supplying a separating current of water through the trough.

2. In an apparatus of the kind described, the combination of a longitudinally arranged trough and traveling members shallower than the trough for causing travel and discharge of heavy or coarse material at the head end, said trough being arranged with an incline to cause liquid and materials carried by it to discharge at the other or tail end, such incline being upward from the trough middle toward its head end and said trough being substantially level elsewhere, means to feed to an intermediate portion of the trough the material to be separated, and means for supplying a separating current of water through the trough.

3. In an apparatus of the kind described, the combination of a long shallow trough with a series of movable iiights therein, means for causing the fiights to move in one direction, and means for causing a portion of the material to travel in an opposite direction, each flight comprising a rigid cross-bar adapted to rest upon the trough bottom while traveling, a piece of packing `material shaped to conform to the troughs bottom in size, and means to secure said packing material to said cross-bar.

4. In an apparatus of the kind described, the combination of a long shallow trough with a series of movable flights therein, a draft connection for vcausing the flights to travel in one direction, means for causing a portion of the material to travel in an opposite direction, each flight comprising a rigid cross-bar, a piece of packing material in front of said cross-bar, and a clamp plate in front of said packing material, said clamp plate adapted to be rigidly clamped to the cross-bar, and said clamp plate shaped and arranged to extend substantially above said cross-bar and at least as high as said draft connection, and recessed to accommodate the latter.

ln testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ROBERT HAZLEHURST WRIGHT.

Witnesses:

E. W. FAUCETTE, J AMES A. BARR.

copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each,

by addressing the Commissioner of Tatents.

Washington, D. C. 

